RF c07s01
Text Burning Desire had learned that Cupidus only grew tense when there was a particular kind of business deal hanging in the air. The size, the type, the legality or morality of it didn't matter: what made the difference was whether or not Cupidus was dealing with Churlin. Churlin was the opposite of Cupidus in many ways: he was passionate, he liked to shout, he relied not on cold calculation but a mixture of charm and aggression to get his way. But they had some similarities too: namely, they both loved wealth, wanted more of it, and loathed each other utterly. What was between them couldn't be describe as rivalry: only hatred. Churlin hated Cupidus because he was more successful, and he'd started off as a pure-blooded noble devil, born and raised in Helheim. Cupidus hated Churlin because he had been a pony in life who had crawled his way out of a muddy ramshackle cabin home to him, his parents and a dozen siblings, and had become a rich, happily-alone miser. Until, of course, he'd died and fallen to Helheim for his excessive greed and the fact he tended to use his wealth to make other people suffer for his entertainment. The other thing Cupidus hated was that Churlin sometimes beat him: it didn't matter that Cupidus owned twice as much territory and had influence all over Helheim, while Churlin didn't even have a voice. What mattered was that Churlin was savvy and aggressive enough to slip into the cracks in the Greed devil's plans, and mangle all his machinations, then run away with a chunk of what was supposed to be the prize of Cupidus alone. Apparently, the only other demon who had ever made Cupidus this way had been Magister. Burning Desire still didn't know the story there, still was confused about how his mother factored into all of this, and he often found himself wondering if he'd ever know. All he knew for sure was that after fifty years of working for Cupidus, and sixty-seven in Helheim, he had gotten painfully used to the flow of daily life here... even if he was continuing his rather-foolish plan. He knew that the reason he hadn't been caught right away was because Cupidus had been distracted by Churlin visiting, to show off some zoning ruling he'd bullied the courts into agreeing to. And after a week of using the 'special' ink Burning Desire had mixed, the Greed devil now seemed to have lost any suspicions he might have had about the red substance. So now he figured he was stuck with this until he finally worked up the courage to move into the second phase of his master plan... except he was pretty sure that if he tried to do anything without figuring out some kind of backup plan, Cupidus would just have him bludgeoned, beaten, cut into tiny pieces, and then ground into fine powder. And all possibly while still alive, so he could suffer as much as possible before what would likely be a particularly-gruesome death, even by Helheim's high standards. Burning Desire sighed quietly as he finished sorting contracts, tucking them away in their assigned spaces in the library shelves, before a familiar voice asked him gently: "You look a little sad. You wanna spice up this library?" The fiery stallion smiled despite himself as he turned around, seeing Polly standing nearby, the pretty stallion gazing at him fondly before the demonic unicorn replied kindly: "Now I'm on duty, Sir Polarity. We don't want to be punished, do we?" "I certainly do, but I see your point. But guess what? You're not on duty anymore." Polly smiled slightly, and Burning Desire tilted his head curiously before the Lust demon half-lidded his eyes at him. "It's your lucky day. Cupidus needs all the servants setting up the meeting room and tending to a special guest... Churlin is back for another round. And I managed to convince Arlock to let you go handle serving him." "I... wait, what? Why? And when Cupidus finds out he'll kill you!" Burning Desire stared in disbelief at Polly, but the Lust demon only chuckled and smiled warmly at him. "No he won't, he needs me still... yes, I'll be punished, but I have a good few ways to protect myself... you just go and talk to Churlin, sweetie. Talk to Churlin." Polly emphasized, and then he glanced back and forth before nodding firmly once and turning to hurry off, and Burning Desire stared after the Lust demon blankly for a few moments before his eyes widened slightly as he began to understand. It didn't all lock together at once for him... but by the time he reached the foyer, he had the basics of a plan in mind. He had stopped in long enough to find out where he was supposed to take the Greed demon from the master of staff, Arlock, and was pleased when he found out they were specifically supposed to head to a waiting room in the western wing: it was the furthest from Cupidus, and he had no doubt that a crafty demon like Churlin would have a way to outwit any methods Cupidus had to try and listen in on his hated enemy. Burning Desire was surprised to find that Churlin had only brought four guards with him... but then again, said guards were all massive and covered from head to claws in armor; even more than that, was the challenging, arrogant grin on Churlin's features, as if he wanted Cupidus to try and attack him. Not that Churlin looked like he was all that capable of defending himself: he was a unicorn, sallow and ugly in color, with a tattered black mane and several gold teeth glimmering in his jaws. His eyes were sunken, and he was wearing a rumpled, ugly suit: he looked less like a demon, and more like a corpse that had wandered down to Hell in search of the spirit that had formerly inhabited it. "Well, look at this. The contract-maker. Don't you look like you've grown up nice?" Churlin said mildly, and Burning Desire looked at him with surprise before the Greed demon chuckled. "Oh, I keep my ear to the ground, boy. You would too, if you were me... tell me, does Cupidus know you're here?" Burning Desire decided to be honest and simply shrugged, and Churlin grinned widely at this. "Good. I like that. I like that a lot, as a matter of fact. Walk with me, kid, you got a look I recognize all too well in your eyes. Looks like revenge mixed with an offer you think I can't refuse." The fiery stallion didn't even know what to say, only nodding nervously before he gestured towards the open archway leading into the western hall, but the Greed demon only chuckled in response. "Now don't you worry none, boy. I always get sent to the same damn room every time I'm here. Walk over here by me." The fiery stallion nodded a bit, falling into step beside Churlin, and he soon found himself surprised by how animated the unicorn was, in spite of the fact he looked like a living corpse. He also couldn't help but notice all the differences between him and Cupidus; there was little logical and sensible about Churlin, and he was as offensive and brash and straightforward as Cupidus was careful and cold and calculating. Churlin seemed at first like the kind of pony with no plan whatsoever, who just kind of flung ideas in every direction until he came up with something good. But when the subject came to messing with Cupidus, on the other hoof, it became clear there was a ruthless and intelligent mind hidden beneath all the chaos, even if Churlin still demanded action first, thinking later. And once they reached the waiting room and Churlin's bodyguards had smashed any suspicious trinkets and rudely cut wards into the walls, Churlin had simply flicked a hoof and produced a contract with a grin, his eyes glowing as he said easily: "I don't usually get the pleasure of offering one of these to a fellow demon like yourself." Burning Desire looked at Churlin, then down at the contract before he picked it up and read quickly over the text already laid out for him. All he had to do was sign... and it was simple enough, except... But when he looked up, Churlin grinned wider at him, raising his head and saying calmly: "You gotta be ready to pay the piper, boy. See, I'm not like Cupidus, buttering you up, leading you sideways. I'm up front and honest as the day is long. So I'm not going to change that, and you're just gonna have to live with it. The price for freedom is high, boy. Those people who think it just costs lives? They ain't begun to reckon what's really on the sales tag yet." The two demonic stallions studied each other... and then Burning Desire nodded slowly, then lowered his horn and rose his foreleg. A moment later, there was a splatter of blood over the contract, and Churlin chuckled as he said softly: "I like you, boy. You and me... we're going to get along just fine together." Burning Desire looked up silently, and then he closed his eyes and nodded once before taking a slow breath. And as he turned to leave, Churlin's loud laughter followed him out, and the demon only hoped that this time, he'd made the right choice. Top ↑ Category:Transcript Category:Story